Usopp's secret
by Manticorex93
Summary: Usopp was mistreated badly, but it was for the sake of saving his nakama. He doesn't dare to tell anyone of the embarrassing incident, but can he keep it hidden? Who will be the one to comfort him in the end? Yaoi, violence and maybe lemon in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Usopp's Secrets

[Two months ago]

_I know, I'll pretend I'm knocked out! I already have a lump to prove it. I'll just lie here, and wait until I hear someone coming._

Usopp continues to lie down and waits for his crew to notice the attacking pirates. A million excuses and explanations run through his mind. Suddenly Zoro run out of The Sunny. He runs to the edge and takes a piss even though there's a toilet near the boy's quarters. _ He probably lost his way again… _Zoro has noticed all the strangers aboard and still boarding, but doesn't rush. Usopp shakes his head slightly and then pretends to suddenly wake up.

"Oy, everybody! We're being attacked! Enemies aboard!" Usopp jumps up and run awkwardly toward the door, and make a well-acted surprise face as he turns to his crewmate.

"Zoro?"

"Usopp? Why didn't you call earlier?" Zoro says while pulling out his swords. The unwanted guests turn towards him. Usopp not knowing what to answer just stands there dumbfounded.

"I think you guys are on the wrong ship…" As Zoro fights back, the rest of the crew runs out on deck. Usopp takes an easy lie and looks up with a sad face.

"I fought bravely! But they got lucky and knocked me out."

Nobody questions Usopp and fights off the attacking pirates. The crew can't see the flag clearly in the dark, so they can't determine who the attackers are. The attacking pirates don't stand out in any way either, which doesn't make the identification easier. While the crew is taking care of the intruders, who's surprisingly easy to handle, Usopp tries to sneak unnoticed back into the safety of The Sunny. Suddenly the attacking captain speaks up.

"Running away, long-nose? Don't worry; I never let something remain unfinished! Guys, we're pulling out." Suddenly they leave in a hurry and disappear into the horizon. The crew turns to Usopp with questioning faces, and Nami takes the word.

"What was he talking about, Usopp?" Usopp stops his escaping project and turns around with a fake dumb-face. He can feel the heat in his neck, and the sweat running down his aching back.

"I-I don't know… They boarded the ship, while I was… Ehm… Asleep, and knocked me out. I honestly don't know what they have been doing, at all! Aaanyhow, my shift is over, so I'll go to bed now. Good night!" Without waiting for responses or questions he tries to walk as normal as possible back to the boys quarters, ignoring the stares from his crewmates on his back. _Luckily the blood hasn't gone through my overalls yet._

_I know I didn't fool them, but there's no way in hell I'm telling them what happened!_

_[Present]_

_It's a nice day on The Thousand Sunny. The sun is rising, leaving a golden path cross the ocean. Just about everyone would be happy to see that unique view, but one sharpshooter wasn't in the mood. Usopp just couldn't bring himself to be happy. _

"Oy, Usopp! Get to bed already, you look like shit!" Sanji yells while lighting up his morning smoke. Usopp straightens up stiffly after night duty and he feels the wounds bleeding again, he shakes his head trying to become more awake. He looks over at Sanji with red eyes.

"Sure. I just didn't feel like going yet… Wake me up at lunch, alright?" Without waiting for the answer he walks right past Sanji with his nose pointing to the floor. Usopp almost trips down the stairs on his way down to the boys' quarters.

"Hasn't changed one bit, eh."

As Usopp stumbles down the stairs he crashes into Franky. Franky being Franky he's not affected, while Usopp looses balance and go straight to the floor. _Just my luck..._

"Oy Usopp, be careful bro." Franky helps him back up. Usopp puts on a smile.

"It's gonna take more than that to take out Captain Usopp! I'm tired so I'm going to bed. See you at lunch." Usopp gets a pat on the shoulder from Franky and tries his best to not whimper in pain, but he can't help but cringe a bit. Hearing a good night from Franky he heads straight to bed. He's already half asleep, but he can hear the whispers from his nakama.

_Luffy: "You think his going to be alright? He hasn't been himself since the incident."_

_Chopper: "I don't know... I just wish he would let me treat him."_

_Luffy: "I'm the captain, I should be able to do something! Don't you have some medicine that could help?"_

_Chopper: "Not when he won't tell us what's wrong…"_

_Zoro: "Just let him have some time, he'll come around."_

_Luffy: "It's been two months since the incident already! I'm just worried…"_

_Chopper: "I'm worried about his back too, he obviously have some kind injury…"_

_Franky: "I think you're right Chopper. Usopp-bro looked like his back was in pain when I touched it earlier." _

Usopp sighs. _What good will it do to tell them? It's not gonna make the nightmares go away… I won't show them my back either… If I'm lucky the wounds will get better by themselves. Yeah, that's it! I just got to wait and it'll all be over!_

_[Lunch time]_

_The vicious man smirks at Usopp, while his subordinates points their swords at the sharpshooters throat." Well, if you do as I proposed I won't kill you, or your nakama. What do you say? Isn't that a great deal, or what?"_

Usopp suddenly awakens, soaked in sweat and with a heavy breath. _God the nightmares are just as bad as when they started. _He stares at the clock on the wall. _Three hours of sleep, _b_etter than most days anyway…_ He leans up and his back's aching bad. _God! It hurts… I'll change the bandages today… _He tries to catch his breath before he forces himself out of bed and he trips over something or _someone_.

"Luffy?!" Usopp stares at his young captain lying on the floor.

"Why are you here?" Luffy looks sadly up at him. Usopp can see the tears gathering.

"I can't go around having fun when one of my crewmates is like this…" A tear runs down Luffy's cheek. Usopp forces himself to smile.

"Oh, but don't worry Luffy! I know it'll pass, I'm sure of it! I'm just gonna take a shower and I'll be up to lunch. Ok?" Usopp doesn't dare to look into Luffy's eyes, he know it'll break him. _Don't look at him! I won't cry…_

Usopp turns the water on and lets the warm water run comforting down his naked body. _"Such feminine body, yet muscular like a man."_ He'll never get that comment out of his head. Usopp feels like crying every time he somehow is reminded of that night, and Luffy wants him to tell him? _I'll never tell them about that night, how weak won't I look then? I got to start training so I can take care of myself and my crew… I can't let shit like this happen again… Maybe Zoro has something I can borrow. It's gonna be so embarrassing to ask though… And I've got to go up to his training room… _Thinking about Zoro training and sweating was dangerously arousing. _Wait! How many times do I have to tell myself? I don't have a crush on Zoro… No way! _Usopp shakes his head and turns the water off and starts to dry off his body, carefully trying not to be too rough on the back. He then changes the bandages and gets dressed. _I should let Chopper look at my back, it doesn't heal well… but what will he say? I can't do it after all… _He puts his hair into a ponytail, and takes a deep breath before he dares to walk up to the others.

Usopp walks out on deck and he's all alone. _They're probably waiting for me... _He looks over the horizon. _It's been two months since the incident… _The seagulls are playing around the ship with loud happy cries. _"I'll be seeing you in about a couple of months, long-nose! I never leave something unfinished..." _Usopp trembles. _I hate that man…_ He stops the train of thought and heads to the dining room. _Just act normal…_

When he gets into the dining room it's an awfully tense atmosphere. _Everyone looks so serious, why? _

"Hey guys! What's up?" Usopp tries breaking the tension, with no luck.

Chopper looks at him with determination.

"Luffy saw your back today, it's still bleeding isn't it? It's not healing right?" Chopper looks with pleading eyes." Wont you _please _let me look at it?"

At first Usopp doesn't know what to say, but then he just smiles.

"What are you talking about? It's just a minor injury, nothing to talk about!"

Luffy abruptly stand up, looking sad and angry at Usopp.

"I know a bad injury when I see one… It's infected too, isn't it? As captain I order you to go to Chopper after lunch!"

Usopp could feel the nervous feeling crawling back to the surface, feeling the sweat dripping down his neck.

"L-Lu-Luffy, it's not that bad, I-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

Usopp had never seen Luffy like this, so _broken_.

"O-okay, I'll go with Chopper after lunch…"

Usopp didn't feel like eating at all, but ate anyway, or the others would probably complain…

Usopp is walking behind Chopper to his office. He feels like running away, but there's nowhere to run on a ship, is there? Chopper opens the door and lets Usopp in.

"Usopp… I don't know what you're hiding, but you shouldn't be afraid to consult me about it. I'm a doctor after all!"

Usopp could feel his sad eyes and looked down on the floor scratching the back of his head.

"I know…I know…"

Chopper sighs.

"Anyway, take of your shirt and let me look at it, okay?"

Usopp had nowhere left to run, and trembling he took his shirt of and turned his back to Chopper. _What's he going to think about me after this?_ He could feel Chopper's gentle hands taking of his poorly placed bandages. He could hear Chopper gasp when he looked at Usopp's bare back.

"Oh, Usopp… This is horrible! How could he do this?"

Usopp was shaking, and he could feel Chopper's anger. Chopper was never angry, was it because Usopp let someone do this to him? He felt so naked and disgusting.

"Chopper, could you just treat it? I don't wanna think about this…"

Chopper came out of his shock, calmed his anger and started treatment.

"Don't worry Usopp, I won't tell the others, but could you please visit me a couple of more times so I can treat it? I'll try to make the scars as small as possible, but I don't know if I can remove them completely…"

Usopp just nodded, thinking about what the attacking captain had written on his back that night made him want to cry. "_This body belongs to- sketch of a pirate mark-he shall desire none but me!_

"Don't tell anyone Chopper, especially not the guys… _and Zoro…_"

Even though Usopp had never said anything, Chopper knew about Usopp's feelings for Zoro. He had never said anything about it though, he felt Usopp should be the one to bring it up.

"Of course not. I've finished the treatment so you're free to go! Visit me the next couple of days, and about next week I should be able to tell you more on how the outcome will be…"

Usopp smiles and nods before going out on deck again. _What does Chopper really think? He's too kind to say anything that could hurt my feelings… _As he stretches and tries out the movement with the new bandages his captain jumps up almost crashing to him.

"Usopp, was the injury bad? Did Chopper say anything special? Are you going to be okay?"

The questions continue. As usual his captain has too much energy, he sighs and smiles.

"Don't worry Luffy, it's going to be alright. This whole incident will be forgotten in no time; just ask Chopper! I'm going to take a nap, so see you for dinner…" Usopp points to Chopper's door and Luffy runs in to get a full report from their doctor. Usopp heads back to the boy's quarters and silently hopes Chopper will be able to keep their secret, knowing how persistent Luffy can be… Luckily the quarters are empty so he just heads straight to bed and tries to get in some more sleep, he had to be at least a little awake for his guard duty tonight.  
The last two weeks Usopp had taken all the night guard duties, not allowing anyone else to be there. Explaining it with that he needed to make up for that night he hadn't been able to warn the crew. He needed to regain their trust, he said. While in reality he was hoping no one else would be up when the attacking pirates came back. He hopes to be able to keep his secret. The thought about not getting the chance to go around bare-chested in the summer heat or when he was swimming was sad, but it had to be done! He would also have to avoid white t-shirts, the whole thing was a pain in the ass. Usopp sighs over his poor sarcasm and lets his thoughts travel elsewhere.

"Oy, get your shitty ass up, it's dinner time!" Sanji yells down the stairs before heading back to preparing dinner. Usopp yawns but freezes and just stares out in surprise as he realizes he hasn't actually had a nightmare this time! It's the first time since the incident, a little hope grows from deep within, but it's suppressed by Usopp's huge amount of negativity. _It's probably my conscious suppressing it, making me believe it's over… It'll surely hit back with full power tomorrow if not harder… _He stands up and quickly gets dressed, blessing Chopper's medical skills for making the simple task of moving easier again. He heads up to the dining hall where the atmosphere is surprisingly dark. _Why, isn't it positive that I've gone to Chopper and that I'm getting treated? _He looks over at Luffy who's pouting and Chopper who looks apologetic at him. _What have you told him, Chopper? _The very familiar nervous feeling creeps back up, the sweat sliding down his neck.

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First chapter's done! I'm just testing out my ideas here so would love some feedback^^ I've got some ideas for how to continue the story, but it's still in progress so bare with me! I like working on this one so it wont be too long until next chapter is up... This was written a bit hurriedly so I'll probably come back and change stuff every now and then. Hope you guys like it!


	2. Chapter 2

So I'm FINALLY posting the second chapter. I mean, I seriously sorry guys! I've been doing so much different stuff I haven't had the time to do this at all. But, summer is coming up and I'll have more time to write! I just wanna tell you, I'm not abandoning this story. I'm just seriously slow at writing and publishing.. But that's all from me! Here's the second chapter. It's short but I felt like that was the right place to cut it ^-^

* * *

"You lied to me Usopp!" Luffy cries out in a mixture of sorrow and anger.

"I-I did not." Usopp waves dismissingly. He doesn't need a big commotion in front of the crew. It's bad enough that apparently his captain knows, but the crew doesn't need to know any more about this. If it goes far enough, must he tell them about his performance that night? _NO, I'll never tell. Showing them how I was back there won't bring out anything good!_

"You said there wouldn't be a mark, that the whole thing would be forgotten. But you're gonna have those scars for life, aren't you?" Luffy looks sad up at Usopp while pointing at his own back, indicating that he's talking about the markings. Usopp's always been weak for Luffy's tears and he prays silently that they won't come.

"I never said anything about _no_ marks or scars. Yes, I'll probably have scars for life, but I said it would be forgotten, and that it will. So give it a rest!" Usopp says cheerfully. No big deal, right? But his suspicions were right. He hadn't told Luffy about his scars, but he still knew. _Damnit Chopper… _Usopp tries to be convincing, but he himself knows he'll never forget that night. He can feel eyes on his back, he doesn't need to turn around to figure out why. He had been so focused on not letting Luffy blurt out about it that he hadn't noticed the rest of the crew's increasing interest in his bandaged back.

"What's so special about a scar, we all have scars…" Zoro mumbles, but looks suspiciously at Usopp. He may seem to not care but he knows it must be something more when Luffy's this intense and it gives him an unfamiliar feeling, an uneasy feeling.

"Ours weren't designed, Zoro." Luffy states bluntly, as if it explains everything, and looks hard at Zoro. Zoro's never able to take Luffy's stare when he's like this and he simply turns away. But Luffy's weird way of saying things make Zoro question what he means. _Have somebody carved their mark on Usopp?_

"Oioi, Luffy… we don't really need to talk about this. Chopper's gonna treat it, so it's gonna be alright!" He looks at Chopper with a nervous smile, hoping he'll help him out. _I can't tell the crew, please Chopper…it's my burden to bear, not yours. _

"I-I'm sorry…Usopp. I can't promise anything; the wounds are deep, we just have to wait and see… Come with me after lunch and I'll see what more I can do." Chopper says rather calm while looking at Usopp, though he's not _actually _looking at him. He may sound calm and collected, but it's actually the opposite. _This whole incident should never have happened, I know…but you're not gonna be able to hide it forever Usopp… You should tell them, the scars won't be 100% gone no matter what I do… Are you gonna cover up your back for the rest of your life? _Usopp could almost tell what Chopper was thinking, but he will not give in. _I promised myself I wouldn't be useless…I promised I would protect the crew, these scars are nothing. I'll do anything for this crew!_

"As Zoro said, we all have our scars. Mine may be a little different, but that is just how it has to be. No use in arguing about things that has already happened." Usopp just smiles and ignore the worried and suspicious looks from his nakama. He takes his seat and starts eating. The others got an eye on him, but they let it be, for now. The others join him, but there's an awkward silence hanging over the dinner table.

After dinner he silently follows Chopper to his office again. Once again he's sitting in the chair with his back turned to Chopper, feeling Chopper's very gentle touch on his aching back. How much had Chopper told Luffy? He wants to ask, but his mouth won't utter the words. Frankly he wants to go back to before he told Chopper so he could hide it all forever…infection or not. Now that the crew's so cautious of everything, how will things go when the attackers return? He doesn't want anyone else to be on the deck when they come, he had made a deal with that man…that man he hated more than anything… They had a deal, and if things work out, none of the crew should be in any danger. This is all for the sake of the crew. But he almost gets sick when he thinks about meeting that guy again, but he had to. That man who at the time said he could, he was so convincing, and he said he could…

"I'm finished…but I have one question." He's brought back to the present by Chopper's voice. Usopp can tell he's nervous. He turns around to face his little friend. He raises an eyebrow as to say "go on", while he puts his shirt on.

"Why…why did you let him do it? What did he say, that convinced you to let him do it? Why didn't you ask for help? I mean, I remember that night quite well. You didn't have any other injuries, at least not visible, and he just let you go. He said he'd be back too. Do you know anything about when or why? Won't you tell me what you're hiding? We can help you…you didn't have to let it go so far!" Chopper stops himself realizing he's been blurting out all his thoughts. _Right...I said one question._ Chopper looks at Usopp with nervous eyes, afraid he has said too much.

"I'm sorry Chopper, that's…that's none of your business." Usopp looks awkwardly away clearly stating he won't tell. Without another word he stands and walks out the door.

"Usopp!" Chopper yells, but he's already gone.

"What is it that you're really hiding, Usopp…?" Chopper whispers quietly in the empty room.

As Usopp steps outside he sees an unexpected person, namely Zoro. He's usually sleeping after dinner. _He looks serious. _Usopp nearly kicks himself, doesn't Zoro always look serious? Unless he's sleeping… _I can't handle more questions…_ Usopp just smiles and waves. He tries to walk away, only to feel his wrist grabbed in a firm grip.

"Come with me." As always Zoro's a man of few words. Usopp can feel that nervous feeling building up again. _Why's this stuff happening to me?_ Is the thought crossing his mind as he's lead into the storage. Zoro leans against the wall and looks at him. Usopp swallows heavily, the interrogation will begin any time now…

"Isn't there something you should tell the crew?" Zoro asks. Usopp stares at him for a while. What is it Zoro thinks he knows?

"What are you talking about Zoro?" Usopp asks with a fake wide-eyed surprise face. Though he's surprised he's not _that _surprised. Zoro _is_ smart. He could probably tell something was off from the moment he ran out of the ship that night…

"I'm talking about whatever those pirates told you. I'm not stupid. You clearly have some kind of agreement or deal with the guy, probably to save our captain and our crew. I just wanna know why. Whatever that guy has, is enough to make you go as far as letting him do that to you. Is his ability really that bad?" Zoro talks in his normal bored voice, but even Usopp can tell something's not as it should be. It's almost as if…

"Zoro, did you notice something that night? Something..._weird_?" Usopp inquires. Zoro just raise an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, the captain was weird. All the stuff he said came true. Care to tell me why? Why he knew what was going to happen?" Zoro's voice is rather sharp at the end, inquiring he demands and answer. Usopp puts on a heavy-thinking face.

"That, that's definitely weird! But seriously, I have no idea. The guy was crazy, talking all kinds of nonsense. Maybe he was lucky." Usopp acts stupid, hoping he'll fool him. He looks apologetic at Zoro.

"Sorry, man. I really don't know. I was knocked out pretty fast, to my disgrace. But they won't get the best of Captain Usopp the Brave ever again! That is why I'll now go and train." Usopp quickly walks out and hurries to his little private workshop. He leaves Zoro with nothing but unanswered questions. Not wanting anymore attention or questions from the crew he puts up a "Do not disturb!" sign on the door.

Usopp breathes heavily as he sits down by his workbench. He rests his head in his hands. Why did Zoro have to analyze it all so hard? He won't tell them of the captain's ability. They would probably laugh at him. But that ability is scary as hell. They wouldn't realize the extent of it. Usopp has seen it. He isn't sure if he's gonna be able to work the whole situation out himself, if the captain went at him seriously he wouldn't stand a chance. But he had an advantage. Most wouldn't even call it an advantage because of what he had to do, but for the crew he would do it without a doubt. There is no way to beat the captain's ability, so you've got to give him what he wants…Usopp's got something he wants, hopefully. It seemed that way that night at least. If the captain's satisfied with some of it, it'll be great. If not, Usopp may not see the crew again after their reunion.

Usopp tears at his hair in frustration, leaving it in an unruly mess. It's so goddamn unfair, how an asshole like that guy could have the ability to change the world and this is what he does with it. He got one seriously great power, and all he does with it is fuck around. Literally. The captain would most probably be back within the end of this week, which is no more than three days, and not until then will Usopp know what his fate is. All he can do is hope and prepare, but how can he even prepare for something like that? Usopp looks at his workbench, he's got a lot of unfinished ideas. To get his mind of it all he begin tinkering with the stuff before him, not caring for the result. He just needs to work on something, or this waiting will make him crazy...

* * *

Soo, I would appreciate if you gave me a review on this ^-^ even if it's to criticize it, I would love it so I can improve my writing. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed it!


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